Winnipeg's John Epping new lineup finished second at the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic, receiving an invite to October's Grand Slam of Curling event in Victoria, British Columbia.

Japan's Miyu Ueno, the reigning National Champion, saw Yui Ueno fall ill at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in Ontario.

After winning their first game against Ottawa's Emma Acres, Yui could not continue, and the team forfeited their second match to Toronto's Hollie Duncan. Ueno was hopeful for Yui to return, sacrificing a game to give their teammate time to improve, but unfortunately she could not continue.

Team Ueno is no longer eligible for World Curling Team Ranking points, but continues to chase a satellite berth into the Grand Slam of Curling event in December. Kirsten Wall of Oakville replaced Yui, the alternate on Jennifer Jones' 2014 Olympic gold-medal winner and long-time teammate of Sherry Middaugh.

Team Mooibroek opens its season on home ice this weekend at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic at the KW Granite Club, the first look at a rebuilt Ontario rink. Sam Mooibroek and longtime second Scott Mitchell are joined by Owen Purcell, the 2025 Nova Scotia champion skip who moves to third, and lead Gavin Lydiate, who served as the team's alternate at the 2025 Brier. Purcell and Mooibroek met at that Brier as opposing skips, with Purcell taking the round-robin finale to clinch a playoff spot, and now team up for a new Olympic cycle.

The foursome draws Scott McDonald in Game 1, Friday morning at 9:00 AM ET. Follow live scores and standings all weekend at https://curlingzone.com.

The new-look Team Bottcher makes its competitive debut this weekend at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic in Kitchener-Waterloo, the first stop on the 2026-27 schedule.

Brendan Bottcher and Geoff Walker stayed together after their run with Team Gushue and added the Horgan brothers, Jake and Tanner, most recently of Team Epping, forming an Alberta-based rink built for the road to the 2030 Olympic cycle. Games get Friday morning underway, and the foursome will look to put early points on the board as they find their rhythm together. Follow live scores, news and standings all weekend at https://curlingzone.com.

Scotland's Orrin Carson is headed to the GSOC Invitational in Victoria after picking up the men's berth from the Euro Super Series in Stirling, Scotland — an invitation that first went to Italy's Stefano Spiller before Team Spiller declined the spot.

The Euro Super Series served as a Grand Slam satellite event this season, with the highest-ranked non-qualified team on each side earning a berth in Victoria. With both finalists already holding invitations, the berth passed to the semifinalists, and when Spiller opted not to accept, it moved to Carson as the other semifinal loser.

Carson opened the week with a 7-6 loss to Spiller before rallying through the round robin and edging Joel Retornaz 9-7 in the quarterfinals. Yannick Schwaller's Swiss rink then held off the young Scots 7-6 in the semifinal on the way to a perfect 6-0 week and the title.

The Dumfries foursome of Carson, Logan Carson, Archie Hyslop and Charlie Gibb has been the dominant junior team in Scotland for the past several seasons, winning four consecutive Scottish junior titles from 2022 to 2025 and collecting world junior bronze twice, in Cortina in 2024 and again this past March in Taarnby, Denmark, where they beat Canada 9-8 in the third-place game. Spiller's Italians took silver at that same championship, making Victoria a spot the two junior rivals could each have claimed.

The GSOC Invitational runs Oct. 13-18 at Victoria's Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, with the remaining satellite berths coming from the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic, Karuizawa International and Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic.

Brad Gushue is trading the hack for the Bookstore Tour this fall, with Gushue: The Making of a Champion currently on pre-order.

The six-time Brier champion's memoir, written with award-winning journalist Stephen Brunt, arrives Nov. 3 from Penguin Canada, with a book tour expected to take the retired skip across Canada through October and November.

Pre-Order here:
https://amzn.to/4cog4H1

The 288-page book traces Gushue's path from a hockey-playing kid in St. John's who discovered curling at 13, through his 2001 world junior title and the 2006 Olympic gold in Turin that made him a household name, to a record run of Brier championships and a final competitive season that ended with his retirement this past spring. Publisher notes promise a candid look at the hard roster decisions along the way, including parting with long-time friends, and Gushue's views on leadership, family and the future of the sport.

Brunt, whose previous books include the bestselling Searching for Bobby Orr and All the Way with Jordin Tootoo, splits his time between Hamilton and Winterhouse Brook, N.L., and serves as artistic director of the Writers at Woody Point festival.

Gushue first announced the project in February ahead of his final Brier. The hardcover lists at $38, with ebook and audiobook editions releasing the same day.

Italy's Giulia Zardini Lacedelli book their spot at the GSOC Invitational, the first stop of the 2026-27 Grand Slam of Curling season, after a semifinal run at the Euro Super Series in Stirling, Scotland.

The Euro Super Series served as a Grand Slam satellite event this season, with the highest-ranked non-qualified team on each side earning a berth in Victoria. With every finalist already holding an invitation, the women's berth went to Zardini Lacedelli as the higher-ranked semifinalist, while Stefano Spiller claimed the men's berth by the same route.

Zardini Lacedelli's week ended against Switzerland's Alina Pätz, who edged the Italians 6-3 in the semifinal before going on to win the title.

The result is an early statement for a lineup that only came together this spring. Zardini Lacedelli moved from vice to skip, joined by Elena Mathis, Marta Lo Deserto and Rachele Scalesse. Zardini Lacedelli, Mathis and Lo Deserto previously played together on Stefania Constantini's team, which won European silver in 2023-24, finished fourth at the world championship and cracked the top 10 in the world rankings.

The GSOC Invitational runs Oct. 13-18 at Victoria's Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, with the remaining satellite berths coming from the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic, Karuizawa International and Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic.

Mark Kean's first event as a Nova Scotia curler will look a lot like his old life. The Woodstock native, now curling out of Halifax, takes his new team to the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in Oakville, Ontario, a familiar early-season stop from the 15 seasons he spent skipping in the province, including a 2015 Brier appearance as Ontario champion and a career-best ninth in the CTRS in 2012-13.

The rest of the lineup is home-grown. Ryan Abraham at third and Luke Saunders at lead were the core of Owen Purcell's Nova Scotia rink for three straight Briers from 2023 to 2025 and reached last January's provincial final before that team disbanded, with Purcell heading to Ontario to play third for Sam Mooibroek.

Nathan Gray fills out the four at second. The pairing gives Kean two players who know the Nova Scotia playdown grind intimately and a road map to a Brier field that has been without him for more than a decade.

Oakville's field is typically loaded with Ontario's top CTRS teams, which makes it a demanding first look at how a 37-year-old skip with new teammates fits together before the Maritime events begin in earnest.

Before the tour swing, the team is putting its Halifax roots to work, running a Junior Development Camp at the Mayflower Curling Club, giving young Nova Scotia curlers time on the ice with a Brier-experienced lineup.

Fredericton's Team Andrea Kelly is starting the season where last year's went right. Kelly released its 2026-27 schedule this week, a Maritime tour across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. that opens at the Dave Jones Stanhope Simpson Insurance Mayflower Cashspiel in Halifax, an event Kelly won a year ago in the team's first season back together.

Kelly, Jennifer Fenwick, Erin Carmody and Katie Vandenborre return unchanged, and there's plenty of Mayflower history in the lineup beyond the title defence. Carmody has won this event before as third for Jill Brothers, and Vandenborre, who was Kelly's lead on the 2023 provincial championship team, played out of Nova Scotia for a season before rejoining. Fenwick brings the deepest tour credentials of the group, peaking at sixth in the CTRS with Saskatchewan's Team Silvernagle in 2021-22 across a career that also took her to British Columbia before she returned home to Rothesay.

The skip's motivation is obvious. Kelly has 13 Scotties appearances, including two as vice for Krista McCarville in Northern Ontario, but her return to New Brunswick last winter ended one game short: after running the table through the A and B events at provincials, she lost the final to Mélodie Forsythe. The Dave Jones is the first step toward a 14th trip, and the triple-knockout format at the Mayflower has been kind to Kelly before.

Matthew Blandford has circled September 11-14 for good reason. The New Westminster rink opens its 2026-27 season at the Saville Shootout in Edmonton, the same event where the team announced itself a year ago with a run to the final in its first tournament together, a loss to Cameron de Jong that set the tone for a season that ended with the team ranked 16th in the CTRS and a berth at the B.C. men's championship.

Blandford, Sebastien Robillard, and Cody Johnston remain intact from last season's team, with de Jong joining forces at third for this season.

The 41-year-old skip has curled in four member associations since his junior days in Newfoundland and Labrador, where he was a three-time provincial junior champion and 2004 national runner-up, and now splits time between Cold Lake, Alberta and the B.C. tour. Robillard, a former Ontario and Quebec competitor, came over after a B.C. final appearance with Glenn Venance in 2025.

The fall schedule is an Alberta-B.C. swing: Saville, then the Okotoks Classic September 24-27, the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic in Vernon October 1-4 and the Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic October 8-11, with more dates to follow.

Team Grace Cave's season starts with an 11:30 AM Friday draw. The new Ontario foursome of Cave, third Emily Deschenes, second Madison Fisher and lead Melanie Ebach hits the ice at the KW Granite Club for the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic presented by Runback Brewing, opening round-robin play against Katelin Langford's Uxbridge rink in a 20-team women's field that runs through Sunday.

The name to watch on this lineup is Deschenes. The Ottawa native skipped Ontario to silver at the 2019 Canadian U18s, represented Canada at the 2020 Youth Olympics in Lausanne and led her junior rink to the 2022 Ontario U21 title and a Canadian Juniors final. After three seasons playing out of Manitoba, where her team peaked at 22nd in the CTRS in 2023-24, she's back in Ontario colours and throwing third for Cave.

Cave, from Winchester, brings a university curling background from Brock and Toronto and has doubled on the mixed doubles side with Jayden King. With Fisher and Ebach rounding out the front end, the group is starting from scratch on chemistry, and a Friday morning start against Langford is as good a low-pressure entry point as the schedule offers before the bigger names on the draw come calling.

Jason Camm is calling the shots again. After two seasons throwing second stones for Scott Howard, the 31-year-old from Rockland is skipping his own team out of the Navan Curling Club this season, with Sam Wills at third, Wyatt Small at second and Nathan Steele at lead.

The new foursome gets its first look at tour competition this weekend at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic presented by Runback Brewing, September 4-7 at the KW Granite Club in Waterloo.

Camm has been here before. He skipped his own Ottawa-area rink from 2019 to 2024, reaching a career-best 10th in the CTRS standings in 2023-24 and making the Stu Sells Halifax Classic final in 2022, before joining Howard alongside older brother Mat. That Howard team came within a semifinal of the Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials final last season and finished fourth at the Ontario Tankard. Mat is stepping away from competitive curling, and the split sent Jason back to the position where he first made his name, winning Ontario bantam titles as a skip in 2011.

The KW field is a solid early measuring stick, and with an Ottawa-region roster in an Ontario Tankard cycle that has opened up considerably after a season of lineup churn, an early qualifying run in Waterloo would go a long way toward setting the tone for Camm's return to the skip position.

Saskatchewan's curling community had a two-time Olympic gold medallist, Sofia Scharback, in the room Saturday.

Scharback, lead for Anna Hasselborg's Swedish rink, joined the 2026 Women in Curling Summit at the Martensville Curling Club, spending the day with curlers from across the province, trading stories and digging into the technical side of the game.

Scharback comes to the summit fresh off the highest point of her career. She threw lead stones as Sweden edged Switzerland 6-5 in the Milano Cortina 2026 gold medal game, eight years after the same foursome of Hasselborg, Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer and Scharback stood atop the podium in PyeongChang. Her resume also includes nine world championship appearances and eight Grand Slam titles, most recently the 2025 Masters.

The CurlSask-organized summit brings women from every corner of Saskatchewan together for a day built around learning, connection and celebrating the women's game, and the organizers extended their thanks to everyone who helped make this year's edition happen.

Jim Cotter is done watching from behind the glass. The 51-year-old Vernon skip returns to men's competition at the Saville Shootout in Edmonton, September 11-14, leading a new five-man B.C. rink of third Jared Kolomaya, second Connor Deane, lead Erik Colwell and alternate Brad Wood.

Cotter's last Brier was 2021, the tenth of his career, and his resume since he first represented British Columbia in 2008 includes a 2014 Brier silver, a 2013 Canadian Olympic Trials silver, the 2017 Elite 10 Grand Slam title and a dozen provincial championships. He spent last winter coaching Corryn Brown's Kamloops rink to the B.C. women's title and a trip to the Scotties.

The team came together in April after Cody Tanaka's departure from the reigning B.C. men's champions left Kolomaya looking for a home. Cotter called him within a day, and Kolomaya, who won this year's provincial title at Tanaka's side, said the chance to play with Cotter, whom he described as arguably the best B.C. curler ever, wasn't one to pass up. Deane and Colwell both skipped or played in the 2025 B.C. men's playoffs; Colwell threw second for Jordan Venance's runner-up team. Wood, the Penticton veteran, has four Brier appearances as B.C.'s alternate, all alongside Cotter.

The Saville Shootout is a familiar early test for Western Canadian teams, and it gives the new group four days to sort out chemistry before the B.C. playdown picture takes shape.

Winnipeg's Team Rhonda Varnes is bringing the new season's first road trip to Ontario. The Heather Curling Club rink flies into Toronto Thursday morning and heads to the KW Granite Club for the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic presented by Runback Brewing, September 4-7, with a Friday 5:00 PM opener against Katelin Langford's Uxbridge-based U25 squad.

Varnes knows the territory. The Manitoba native spent the better part of a decade in Ontario, qualifying for the Ontario Scotties in 2015 during her Ottawa years before moving home to Winnipeg, and has skipped at provincial championships in three different member associations.

Varnes finished 1-2 at last weekend's Asham Icebreaker in Morris, Manitoba.

Kate Cameron takes the reins of the former Team St-Georges of Laval, Quebec and will make their debut at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic against Switzerland's Corrie Huerlimann. Laurie St-George, Emily Riley and Emilia Gagne round-out the lineup.

Cameron finishes round-robin play against Ontario's Danielle Inglis, then takes on Dubberstein of the Philippines and finishes against Ontario's Dominique Vivier.

Team Chelsea Principi kicks off the new season this weekend at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic presented by Runback Brewing, running September 4-7 at the KW Granite Club in Waterloo. The Niagara Falls rink draws a tough opener: an 8:00 PM Friday matchup with fellow Ontario side Team Hollie Duncan, who won the women's title here last September, beating Team Tabata in the final.

Principi, third Lauren Peskett, second Brenda Chapman and lead Keira McLaughlin come in with momentum of her own. The team captured the 2025 Swiss Chalet Women's Curling Stadium Spiel, one of the bigger early-season women's results on the Ontario tour, and will be looking to carry that form into a KW field that has traditionally served as a first real test for provincial contenders ahead of the fall qualifying grind.

Kerri Einarson's rink continued laying the groundwork for the 2026-27 season with a training camp at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton. The University of Alberta facility serves as Canada's national training centre and offers ten sheets of championship-level ice, making it a familiar destination for teams building toward a new season. For the Gimli, Man.-based side, the camp represents an early chance to put reps behind a lineup that looks different from the one that closed out last year.

Einarson remains at skip, with Shannon Birchard moving up to third and Karlee Burgess sliding to second, while two-time Olympian Jocelyn Peterman joins at lead and vice. Peterman, who lives in Chestermere, Alta., arrives from Kaitlyn Lawes' Winnipeg rink and will call skip stones from the tee. The overhaul came quickly after last season's finish: days after a runner-up result at the World Women's Curling Championship in Calgary, the team parted ways with longtime third Val Sweeting, alternate Krysten Karwacki and coach Reid Carruthers. The remaining core has been among Canada's most successful of the decade, with five Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles since 2020 and three world championship medals since 2022 - bronze in 2022 and 2023, and silver this past March. Birchard and Burgess will continue as the primary sweeping duo.

Einarson will open their season at the Saville Shootout, held September 11-14 at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

Amanda Power spent a decade knocking on the door of a Prince Edward Island women's title. She finally got through it in January, and the reward was a week she is unlikely to forget - and, by her own standards, unlikely to be satisfied with.

Now the door leads somewhere bigger. The 2027 Scotties Tournament of Hearts runs Feb. 12-21 at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, a record fifth turn as host for the city and its first since 2011. For every women's team on the Island, the 2026-27 season carries a weight that no other year does: win the province, and you play a national championship in front of the people you learned the game with.

Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill have spent the better part of a decade turning Estonia into a legitimate mixed doubles power, and the past three seasons delivered the payoff. The Tallinn pair claimed Estonia's first world curling medal with silver at the 2024 World Mixed Doubles Championship, falling to hosts Sweden in the final, then backed it up in 2025 with a 6-3 round robin, a quarterfinal win over Canada's Peterman/Gallant, and a semifinal loss to eventual champions Constantini/Mosaner for a fourth-place finish - results that combined to send them to Milano Cortina 2026, where Estonia became the smallest nation ever to qualify for Olympic curling.

Caden Hebert of Eau Claire, Wisconsin starts off their season with a title win at the Asham Icebreaker in Morris, Manitoba. Hebert defeated Philadelphia's Scott Dunnam 6-2 in Sunday's final.

New Brunswick's Team Mélodie Forsythe got its 2026-27 season underway at Curling Canada's U-25 National NextGen SuperCamp at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, training alongside some of the country's top young teams as part of the national development program.

"We are grateful for this opportunity to learn, train and prepare alongside some of the top young curling teams from across the country," the team posted from Edmonton, adding that its full season schedule will be released soon.

The Fredericton foursome of Forsythe, Rebecca Watson, Carly Smith and Jenna Campbell arrives at the camp coming off a breakthrough season. Forsythe captured her first New Brunswick women's title in December, edging four-time defending champion Andrea Kelly 7-6 in an extra end at the Capital Winter Club, and went on to make the team's Scotties Tournament of Hearts debut in Mississauga in January. The team closed the year at the U-25 NextGen Classic in Edmonton in April, one of the events that feeds into Curling Canada's NextGen funding and coaching support.

Forsythe was also a fixture on the junior scene, skipping New Brunswick at the 2025 Canadian U-20 Championships in Summerside in her final year of eligibility.

For Giulia Zardini Lacedelli, Marta Lo Deserto, Elena Antonia Mathis, and Rachele Scalesse, their ambitions are high, and their first goal for the 2026/27 season is to represent Italy at the upcoming European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, from October 27 to November 1.

[Translated from Italian]

A challenge between the three best Italian men's and women's teams, held in October, will decide who will wear the Italian colours at the continental event. "Thank you for welcoming us back; it's an honour and a pleasure for us to return," said skip Zardini Lacedelli. "We have big goals, but we know we can achieve them.

It'll be a long journey, but we can do well, and we've already shown that in the first tournament. We want to be ready for the challenge that will determine who will represent the Italian national team."

Manitoba's Kate Cameron heads east to join forces with Laurie St-Georges to form a new team based out of Laval.

The foursome, rounded out with Emily Riley at second and Emilia Gagne at lead will open their season on Labour Day weekend at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic at the KW Granite Club.

The Saskatchewan-based rink is pleased with the arrival of their new coach and look forward to a great season.

Ontario's Team Grace Cave will commence their season at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic September 4-7.

Team Dunnam is back on the ice for the Icebreaker Challenge in Morris, Manitoba — though flight delays nearly derailed the start of their season opener.

The event coordinators and Team Freeman agreed to push their first game back, so they'll now throw at 6 PM CST today.

Team Ryan Thompson-Brown opens their seven-spiel-slate at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic in September, playing all in Ontario except a Halloween-weekend trip to the Rick Rowsell Classic in St. John's.

They wrap up with the Curling Ontario Open Qualifier in St. Thomas (Dec 18-20) and the Tankard in Cornwall (Jan 11-17, 2027), with the KW Fall Classic kicking things off in two weeks.

Scotland's Orrin Carson is headed to the GSOC Invitational in Victoria after picking up the men's berth from the Euro Super Series in Stirling, Scotland - an invitation that first went to Italy's Stefano Spiller before Team Spiller declined the spot.

The Euro Super Series served as a Grand Slam satellite event this season, with the highest-ranked non-qualified team on each side earning a berth in Victoria. With both finalists already holding invitations, the berth passed to the semifinalists, and when Spiller opted not to accept, it moved to Carson as the other semifinal loser.

Carson opened the week with a 7-6 loss to Spiller before rallying through the round robin and edging Joel Retornaz 9-7 in the quarterfinals. Yannick Schwaller's Swiss rink then held off the young Scots 7-6 in the semifinal on the way to a perfect 6-0 week and the title.

The Dumfries foursome of Carson, Logan Carson, Archie Hyslop and Charlie Gibb has been Scotland's dominant junior team for the past several seasons, winning four consecutive Scottish junior titles from 2022 to 2025 and collecting world junior bronze twice, in Cortina in 2024 and again this past March in Taarnby, Denmark. Carson beat Canada 9-8 in the third-place game, while Spiller's Italians took silver at that same championship, making Victoria a spot the two junior rivals could each have claimed.

The GSOC Invitational runs Oct. 13-18 at Victoria's Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, with the remaining satellite berths coming from the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic, Karuizawa International and Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic.

Xenia Schwaller's reigning world champions came within one game of a perfect start to the 2026-27 season. The Zurich rink won all six games through the round robin and playoffs at the Euro Super Series in Stirling, Scotland, before dropping an 8-5 decision to Alina Paetz in Sunday's final.

Paetz, skipping her own team for the first time following Silvana Tirinzoni's retirement, went 3-1 in the preliminary round and beat Corrie Hürlimann and Giulia Zardini Lacedelli to reach the championship game.

Schwaller, Selina Gafner, Fabienne Rieder and Selina Rychiger were in the field with plenty at stake: the event doubled this year as the first Grand Slam satellite stop, and the team came in ranked among the top rinks in the world after their 13-straight-win run to world championship gold in Calgary in March. Coach John Epping made the trip to Scotland, and the team called it a strong first event with plenty to build on.

Next stop is Canada. Team Schwaller heads to the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic presented by Runback Brewing, September 4-7, at the KW Granite Club in Waterloo

Team Matt Dunstone's 2026-27 era officially began on the ice this week, with the Brier champions taking their first practice together at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton. The Manitoba rink comes back with skip Matt Dunstone, third Colton Lott and lead Ryan Harnden, joined by new second Mark Nichols -- the six-time Brier champion and 2006 Olympic gold medallist who spent his career at third for Brad Gushue. Nichols slots in for E.J. Harnden, who stepped back from full-time competitive curling at the end of last season.

Fargo's Team Hodek opens the 2026-27 campaign this weekend at the Morris Curling Club, where the Icebreaker Challenge runs August 28-30 with a 10-team field playing a round-robin pool format for a $4,000 purse. The Asham-backed spiel has become a familiar early-season stop for competitive Manitoba teams, offering a first chance to sharpen timing and test lineups before the season gets going in earnest - and the Dawgs will have something to test, having added Ethan Sampson to the roster for the new season.

The team bills Sampson as a day-one addition rather than a newcomer, and the history backs it up: he played alongside Tim Hodek at the 2017 USA Curling Junior National Championships in Fargo, on a rink that also featured Skyler Slusar and John Lindgren. Nine years on, the pair are back on the same sheet.

A handful of spots remain for the Hot Shots Curling Camp at the Charlotte Curling Association, running September 11-13, 2026.

Sandy MacEwen's Northern Ontario rink opens the season with a practice at Oakville Curling Club.

Along with Dustin Montpellier, Olivier Bonin-Ducharme, Lee Toner and Luc Ouimet, MacEwan beat John Epping in January's provincial final for their first Northern Ontario title.

Team Casper has released its 2026-27 schedule, and the American Olympic rink will start its post-Milano Cortina campaign on Ontario ice.

Danny Casper, Luc Violette, Ben Richardson and Aidan Oldenburg open Sept. 11-14 at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, then head straight to Cornwall for the AMJ Shorty Jenkins Classic from Sept. 16-20.

The Minnesota-based squad's only home-soil stop before the new year comes in October at the St. Paul Cashspiel, Oct. 8-11.

Evan MacDougall's Fergus, Ontario rink — Dylan Stockton, Evan Madore, Carson Kay, alternate Ryne Fisher, coached by Jordan Thin hit the ice at the Saville Center in Edmonton.

Winning gold at the 2026 New Holland U20 Canadian Curling Championships in Sudbury, earned them the trip to the World Junior Championships in Aberdeen, Scotland in February 2027.

The Saville Community Sports Centre is where Curling Canada runs its NextGen pipeline, with the program offering access to national coaches and development camps.

Team Greg Smith announced Brendan Craig as a new addition to the lineup, replacing former second Nate Locke.

Craig has previously competed in Canadian Mixed Doubles Championships with his wife Riley.

Skipper Greg Smith, third Carter Small and lead Ben Stringer are looking forward to seeing how their new team gels.

Newfoundland & Labrador's Greg Smith spent the past week coaching at the Trillium Curling Camp in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Trillium Curling Camp has closed the book on another summer at the KW Granite Curling Club, with Week A running August 9-14 and Week B following August 16-21.

"Always grateful for the opportunity to coach at Trillium Curling Camp in Kitchener-Waterloo!" posted Smith on Facebook.

"Amazing young curlers, coaches and staff! A week full of fun, learning, and helping coach the next generation of our sport."


One of Ontario's premier junior development programs, Trillium caters to curlers aged 12 to 18 and has called the Kitchener-Waterloo Granite Club home since 2014. The two weeks run identical programs, opening Sunday evening and wrapping up Friday afternoon, with campers billeted at the Waterloo College Hall residence at Wilfrid Laurier University. Each week hosts a full contingent of 96 junior curlers.

On the ice, certified instructors work with campers on everything from delivery mechanics to brushing technique. Off the ice, the curriculum covers team dynamics, fitness, communication and strategy. Campers are placed individually into colour groups by age rather than arriving as intact teams - a deliberate choice to push kids into new friendships and balance the learning across groups. It's aimed at experienced youth athletes and is not a learn-to-curl program.

Ontario's Team Scott Howard drops the latest for their upcoming tour schedule.

Beginning in Oakville at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard September 11-14, Team Howard is gearing up to show they belong at the Montana's Brier in February.

Tucker and Carter Hellman joined India's Team Raju last weekend at the Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic in Sapporo.

Olivia McDonah and Chris McCurdy open their season at the U25 NextGen Classic Mixed Doubles, running Aug. 23–25 at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton. The Truro, Nova Scotia duo are together for another year and have added Kevin Ouellette as coach.

The pair qualified out of the East for the Canadian Under-21 Mixed Doubles Championship in Sudbury last March, and McCurdy also wore the Maple Leaf at the World Juniors with Team Calan MacIsaac. The mixed doubles winner in Edmonton earns a berth in Curling Canada's NextGen Program.

Saskatoon's Team Mike McEwen was spotted getting in early practice at the Martensville Curling Club.

Coach Doug Marks gives Edmonton's Team Jaxon Hiebert a crash course on some old-school sweeping. Who did it best?

Tetsuro Shimizu posted a short reflection after Team Consadole's fourth-place finish at the Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic 2026 in Sapporo, thanking fans for their support throughout the week.

The 2018 Olympian wrote that the result stung precisely because the team had been playing good curling, and that the event left him with a sharp reminder of the areas he still needs to work on personally. He also thanked the tournament staff and ice technicians before looking ahead to the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup 2026 this weekend, where he intends to reset and go again.

Consadole — competing as Team Abe — swept Pool B with a 4-0 record, opening with a 6-3 win over India's Raju before beating Jutori (Full-Skewer) 10-4, Maeda (LOCODRAGO) 7-3 and Ogiwara (Sapporo International University) 6-5. That put them into the playoff round as pool winners, but they fell 7-6 to Yamaguchi (SC Karuizawa Club) in the semifinal and then 4-1 to Hirata (KiT Curling Club) in the third-place game.

The event ran August 20-23, with ten teams split into two pools of five; the top two from each advanced.

If you'd rather run his words directly, here's a clean translation of the post:

Translation of Social Media Post:

Fourth place at the Dougin Curling Classic 2026. Thank you for all the support! It's a frustrating result exactly because we were competing well — this event made me confront my own shortcomings. Thank you to the tournament staff and the ice makers. This weekend is the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup 2026. Time to reset and get back at it.

Team Koe has unveiled its 2026-27 season schedule via a social media reel, framing the announcement with a curling-themed parody of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. The team opens its season close to home at the Saville Shootout in Edmonton from September 11-14, with the balance of the event-by-event itinerary laid out in the video. The accompanying post credits the sponsors backing the squad's travel and competition: Celco Heavy Rents, BalancePlus Curling Equipment, Maxwell Realty, Leduc Co-op, The Ranch Golf and Country Club, Twin Anchors Houseboats, and Runback Apparel.

The first event of the season is underway for Mixed Doubles teammates Abby Deschene and Brayden Sinclair.

The pair drove out from Sudbury, Ontario to Edmonton, Alberta for the U25 NextGen Classic. The event is underway from August 23-25 .

Watch streaming through Curling Staduim Edmonton.

Thunder Bay's Team Kurtis Byrd announced the addition of Al Hackner to the team as coach.

Team Black has announced their 2026/2027 schedule, leading with an appearance at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard Sept 11-14th.

After a breakthrough season in 2025/26, Team Serena Gray-Withers is back on the ice again ready for the season to get underway.

As reported by Curling Central, Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni will be taking on role of Head Coach for the Korean Curling program.

Sudbury-born curler Kira Brunton and her teammate Jacob Horgan have been named to Curling Canada's national team program as a development team. The mixed doubles duo will receive funding and access to sport science support. Brunton says the program brings them one step closer to making curling a career, she sits down with Tony Ryma to discuss the opportunity.

News posted on the Wakkanai Challenge Cup official website noted that Korea's Bobae Kang has withdrawn.

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We have received notification from "Kang/Team Kang," who were scheduled to participate in this tournament, that they will be unable to participate at short notice. After discussions within the tournament organizing committee, we have decided to treat their participation as a forfeit.
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Team Deconinck Smith is back on the ice training in Edmonton ahead of their season opener at the Saville Shootout, September 11-14. The team debuted their new team apparel from Dynasty Curling on the ice at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

It started as a bit of motivation. Trailing 0-1 in the best-of-three Swiss women's championship final against Silvana Tirinzoni's Olympic silver medalists, coach John Epping told Team Xenia Schwaller that if they went on to win the world title, he'd get his first tattoo.

They took care of the rest. After dropping their opener to Japan 6-3 in Calgary, Schwaller, Selina Gafner, Fabienne Rieder and Selina Rychiger reeled off 13 straight wins to claim the 2026 world women's title, and the team made sure the promise came up after every one of them. Epping, a four-time Grand Slam champion who has skipped in five Olympic Trials, admitted the needle rattled him more than any game ever has. "I think I was more nervous there than in any curling game I've ever played," he told the Grand Slam of Curling.

The design was never in doubt. The team plays out of Zürich's Grasshopper Club, so a grasshopper it was. What Epping didn't know when he made the deal is that all four players would end up getting matching grasshopper tattoos too, a permanent souvenir of a season that took a world junior champion rink to the top of the senior game in their first year with Epping in the coach's chair.

Team Colten Steele will kick off the season at the KW Fall Classic, September 4-7.

Xenia Schwaller's breakout season began in Cornwall, and she returns there as a world champion. The Zurich skip won the Shorty Jenkins as one of her first events last fall, then dropped her opener at the world championship in Calgary in March and never lost again, beating Canada 7-5 for gold. Kerri Einarson, on the wrong end of that final, returns with a reshaped lineup that brings in Jocelyn Peterman at lead and vice-skip following Val Sweeting's departure. Alina Pätz is back behind her own team for the first time since Silvana Tirinzoni's retirement, three years after lifting this title as Tirinzoni's fourth. Christina Black's Nova Scotia rink, Japan's Team Ueno and a Kayla Skrlik squad remade around Myla Plett, Sarah Koltun and Samantha Fisher fill out the 14-team, $45,000 field.

John Epping defends a title he won with a roster he no longer has. Only lead Ian McMillan came with him from the team that went undefeated through the 2025 round robin, and the two have relocated to Manitoba alongside B.J. Neufeld and Ryan Wiebe.

Turnover is the theme across the 20-team, $60,000 draw: Grant Hardie calls his own game for the first time since leaving Bruce Mouat, throwing third for a side anchored by 2023 Shorty Jenkins champion Ross Whyte, while Joel Retornaz starts a new Olympic cycle with three fresh faces around him. Czechia's Lukas Klíma, who skipped his country's first Olympic men's entry at Milano Cortina, joins Switzerland's Team Hoesli and Italy's Team Zisa on the European side. Canada counters with Team King, Scott Howard's retooled Ontario rink, Sam Mooibroek and Owen Purcell's new pairing, and Felix Asselin, back to skipping after Jean-Michel Ménard's retirement.

Japanese curling star Sayaka Yoshimura took a turn on the diamond as she threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Nippon Ham Fighters. Yoshimura represented Japan at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and is a fan favourite in her home country, and was warmly welcomed by the crowd in what was a fun crossover moment between Japan's most beloved winter and summer sports.

Fleury joins six individuals and one posthumous inductee during the annual gala held at the Caruso Club in Sudbury on June 10th.

Greater Sudbury's 2025 Sportsperson of the Year is also the 2024 and 2025 world curling and Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion. In February, she won an Olympic bronze medal at the Milano Cortina Games with Team Homan. Prior to joining Team Homan at vice, she skipped teams across Canada.

Skip Tardi has rebranded his rink as the "Green Machines" to embrace their Saskatchewan roots, and while he's tempering expectations for the new squad given the logistical challenges of a six-hour travel distance between teammates, he's energized by the prospect of competing in front of a home crowd at the 100th Brier in Saskatoon next March. Tardi believes the passionate Saskatchewan fan base could be a major driving force for the team as they work to build chemistry and put systems in place, with the ultimate goal of bringing the tankard back home.

South Korea's Team Ha has been confirmed as a participant in the 2026 Karuizawa International, marking the squad's first-ever appearance at the September 17-20 event in what will be a significant milestone for a lineup that only recently came together. Skip Ha Seung-youn and third Kim Hye-rin joined forces with Kim Cho-hi and Kim Seon-yeong -- both former members of the legendary Team Kim Eun-jung -- following that team's disbandment after a 17-year run. Team Kim's breakup concluded one of the most decorated partnerships in Korean curling history, which included silver medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 World Women's Curling Championship, as well as six Korean national titles. Ha herself is a World Championship and Pan Continental Championship competitor who previously skipped Chuncheon City Hall to the national championship final in 2025, and the infusion of experienced front-end talent makes this newly configured rink one to watch. The Karuizawa International will serve as the new team's first major international showcase together, with the added incentive of a Grand Slam invitation on the line as a GSOC Satellite Event.

After six seasons as one of Italy's most decorated leads, Giulia Zardini Lacedelli is taking the next step in her career, moving into the skip role for the 2026-27 season. The 23-year-old Cortina d'Ampezzo native has assembled a new squad featuring three familiar faces -- third Elena Mathis and second Marta Lo Deserto follow her from the now-disbanded Team Constantini, while Rachele Scalesse joins at lead. The trio carried plenty of highlights out of their time with Constantini, including a European Championship silver medal in 2023 and a fourth-place finish at the 2024 World Women's Championship. Now with Zardini Lacedelli calling the shots, this young Italian rink carries genuine potential -- and the familiarity already in place gives them a head start as they begin building toward the next Olympic cycle on home soil.

Loco Drago's Team Maeda has been confirmed as a participant in the 2026 Karuizawa International, set for September 17-20, bringing one of Japan's most exciting young men's rinks to the Karuizawa ice. Team Maeda competes under the Loco Solare organization -- the same storied club as the legendary women's team -- having joined as its men's division, Loco Drago, in 2023. Skip Takumi Maeda leads a tight-knit group of Hokkaido-born teammates including third Hiroki Maeda, second Uryu Kamikawa, and lead Gakuto Tokoro -- three classmates and a younger brother who have risen steadily through Japan's ranks, finishing third at nationals in 2023-24 and runners-up in 2024-25. Their style of play is known for being aggressive and creative, inspired by skip Takumi's admiration for Canadian star Kevin Koe, with the team going for big shots without hesitation whenever the opportunity presents itself. The Karuizawa International entry marks another step forward for a squad that has set its sights squarely on earning a Grand Slam invitation -- which is precisely what's on the line as a GSOC Satellite Event -- and proves that Loco Drago is ready to test itself against the best Japan and the world have to offer.

Italian curling skip Stefania Constantini has unveiled her new women's team roster for the upcoming 2026-27 season, retaining veteran partner Angela Romei while bringing in sisters Lucrezia and Allegra Grande. The announcement comes after a tough Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on home ice, where Team Constantini struggled to a 2-7 record and a second-last place finish -- a performance further complicated by Romei being replaced as alternate by Rebecca Mariani when the national team lineup was finalized.

India's Team Raju has been confirmed as a participant in the 2026 Karuizawa International, set for September 17-20 in Karuizawa, Japan, making them the first team from India ever to compete at the prestigious event.

One of Japan's premier international competitions, the Karuizawa International draws top teams from around the world each year and has established itself as one of Asia's leading curling events.

The tournament now holds added significance as a Grand Slam of Curling Satellite Event for the 2026-27 season, meaning the winner earns an invitation to a Grand Slam event.

The entry continues a remarkable stretch of milestone moments for Team Raju, who became the first Indian men's team to podium at both a World Curling event and on the World Curling Tour, and recently made their debut on Japanese ice at the Hokkaido Curling Tour.

Earlier this spring, skip P.N. Raju led his squad -- third Girithar Anthay Suthakaran, second Sudheer Reddy, and lead Kishan Vasant -- to a qualification berth at the inaugural World Championship Pre-Qualifier in Dumfries, Scotland, further cementing their standing as the driving force behind curling's growth in India.

Jim Cotter is back with a new lineup for the upcoming season. The Vernon-based skip has assembled a five-man roster featuring Jared Kolomaya, Connor Deane, Erik Colwell, and longtime teammate Brad Wood, describing it as a fully Interior B.C. squad blending experience and youth. Cotter, a 10-time Brier participant and 2017 Grand Slam champion, brings significant pedigree to the new-look team as they set their sights on the 2026/27 competitive season.

Team Ramsfjell is heading into next season with a fresh look and added flexibility, announcing a five-man roster that brings in Steffen Walstad and Mathias Braenden alongside returning core members third Martin Sesaker and second Bendik Ramsfjell. The shakeup follows the departure of lead Gaute Nepstad earlier this month. Skip Magnus Ramsfjell says the expanded lineup is designed to find the right combinations while also giving players a healthier balance between their sporting and personal lives -- a sign of a team thinking as much about sustainability as competition as they chart their course for the season ahead.

Germany's curling future is in familiar hands as Benjamin Kapp is promoted to skip heading into next season, taking over from Marc Muskatewitz with much of the same core intact. Kapp is joined by third Felix Messenzehl, second Johannes Scheuerl, and newly elevated lead Mario Trevisiol -- four players who have grown up together in the sport, dating back to their junior days and a silver medal at the 2023 World Juniors. The group made waves on the international stage with Muskatewitz at the helm, winning the 2024 European Championship -- Germany's first in two decades -- reaching the Grand Slam playoffs three times, and representing their country at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. Now under Kapp's leadership, the squad looks to build on that foundation and continue their rise in the men's game.

After eight years as the powerhouse vice on Team Tirinzoni, Switzerland's Alina Paetz is stepping back into the skip role for the upcoming season. The 2015 world champion has unveiled a new lineup -- third Selina Witschonke, second Stefanie Berset, and lead Renee Frigo -- signalling the end of one of curling's most successful partnerships. During her time with Tirinzoni, Patz helped the Swiss squad claim four world titles, six Grand Slam victories, and an Olympic silver medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games. Now, she sets her sights on building a legacy of her own from the hack.

Consadole's Team Abe has been confirmed as a participant in the 2026 Karuizawa International, returning to Karuizawa this September as the event's reigning men's champion. Skip Shinya Abe claimed the title at the most recent edition of the event in March 2026, giving the Hokkaido-based club its latest chapter in a long history of success on Japanese ice. Abe is backed by one of Japan's most experienced lineups, with fourth Tetsuro Shimizu -- himself a nine-time World Championship competitor -- alongside second Hayato Sato, lead Haruto Ouchi, and alternate Sota Tsuruga, all under the guidance of coach Bob Ursel. The squad enters the September 17-20 event with momentum, having won the 2025 Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic to open last season, and will face stiff competition from fellow confirmed participants Team Yamaguchi and Team Yoshimura as the newly elevated Grand Slam of Curling Satellite Event raises the stakes considerably -- with the winner earning an invitation to a Grand Slam.

Team Corrie Hurlimann has filled the void left by Stefanie Berset's departure, turning to the junior ranks to find their answer. Twenty-year-old Isabel Einspieler from St. Gallen joins the squad alongside returning members third Marina Lortscher and lead Celine Schwizgebel. Einspieler has been a fixture in Switzerland's national program for several years and brings a solid junior pedigree to the role, having competed at the World Junior Curling Championships and earned multiple podium finishes on the European junior circuit. While the late-breaking roster change presented an unwelcome challenge for a team that had been planning stability, Hurlimann and her squad will now look to regroup around a new second and continue their push toward the top of the Swiss women's game.

They haven't thrown a meaningful rock together in over seven years, but Team Hall out of Victoria, BC is stepping onto the sheet with the kind of confidence usually reserved for teams with recent hardware. Skip Matthew Hall, Third Sterling Middleton, Second Alex Horvath, and Lead Thomas Thierbach are reuniting with a mix of experience and new-found energy -- and a self-described "dangerous amount of confidence" that could either be their greatest weapon or their biggest liability.

SC Karuizawa Club's Team Yamaguchi has been confirmed as a participant in the 2026 Karuizawa International, set for September 17-20 -- and few teams will feel more at home on that ice. Skip Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi is a native of Karuizawa itself, and the club has long been the standard-bearer of Japanese men's curling. The team arrives with unfinished business after finishing third at the most recent edition of the event, and with the motivation that comes from a breakthrough season: Yamaguchi led SC Karuizawa Club to victory at the 2025 Japanese Olympic Trials, earning Japan's men's berth at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. The veteran skip has now made nine World Championship appearances and one Olympic appearance, and he brings one of Japan's deepest and most experienced lineups -- fourth Riku Yanagisawa, second Takeru Yamamoto, and lead Satoshi Koizumi -- back to the event they consider their own. With the Karuizawa International now a Grand Slam of Curling Satellite Event, the winner earns an invitation to a Grand Slam, raising the stakes considerably for a team hungry to go one better than their third-place showing last time out.

Italian mixed doubles curling duo Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner have confirmed they will continue competing together, targeting the French Alps 2030 Winter Olympics despite both of their four-player teams disbanding. The two-time Olympic medallists -- who made history at Beijing 2022 by going undefeated en route to a gold medal win over Norway, giving Italy its first-ever Olympic curling medal -- announced their commitment to another run via a newly created joint social media account.

Skip Sayaka Yoshimura and her Fortius rink have been confirmed as participants in the 2026 Karuizawa International, set for September 17-20 in Karuizawa, Japan, returning to the event as defending champions. Yoshimura claimed the 2024 Karuizawa title with a dramatic final-end score to edge out Sweden's Anna Hasselborg 5-4, and the squad arrives this September fresh off their debut Olympic appearance. Yoshimura led Japan to a berth at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games after defeating Norway 6-5 at the Olympic Qualification Event in Kelowna, capping a four-year climb back to the sport's biggest stage. The Sapporo-based Fortius team -- comprising third Kaho Onodera, second Yuna Kotani, lead Anna Ohmiya, and alternate Mina Kobayashi -- is a three-time Japan national champion, and will look to reclaim the Karuizawa title on familiar ice before what promises to be a busy 2026-27 season. As a Grand Slam of Curling Satellite Event, the winner earns an invitation to a Grand Slam, adding further stakes to what is already one of Japan's premier international competitions.

The core of Sweden's legendary Team Edin isn't ready to walk away just yet. Three days after Niklas Edin announced his retirement, third Oskar Eriksson has stepped up to take the reins, officially unveiling Team Eriksson alongside returning teammates Rasmus Wrana and Christoffer Sundgren, with alternate Simon Olofsson promoted to a full-time role. Eriksson arrives at the skip position with one of the richest resumes in the sport -- three Olympic medals, eight world titles, and eight European championships earned alongside Edin over more than a decade at the top of the men's game. He also proved he could lead under pressure, guiding the team to the 2022 Tour Challenge title as a skip after Edin went down with a knee injury before the semifinals, defeating Team Gushue and Team Dunstone to claim the crown. Now with a new chapter ahead and familiar teammates beside him, Eriksson enters the 2026-27 season with the experience and pedigree to remain a force on the international stage.

One of Switzerland's most decorated rinks isn't going anywhere. Yannick Schwaller, fourth Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel, second Sven Michel, and lead Pablo Lachat-Couchepin have confirmed they will return together for the 2026-27 season, with coaches Havard Vad Petersson and Glenn Howard also staying on board. The Geneva-based squad has been on a steady upward trajectory since forming in 2022, collecting a World Championship bronze in 2023, a silver in 2025, and an Olympic bronze at the Milano Cortina Games earlier this year. Schwaller also broke through for his first Grand Slam title at the HearingLife Canadian Open in December, defeating Ross Whyte in the final in Saskatoon. With a belief that the best is still ahead of them, Team Schwaller heads into the new season with unfinished business at the top of the podium.

Switzerland is getting yet another Schwaller on the ice. Kim Schwaller -- 22-year-old younger brother of Olympic bronze medallist Yannick -- is stepping into the skip role for the first time at the senior level, launching a brand new Solothurn-based team alongside Jan Iseli, Andreas Gerlach, and Maximilian Winz. The four are no strangers to each other, having crossed paths on the Swiss junior circuit for years, and that familiarity shows in the energy surrounding the announcement. Kim arrives with impressive credentials of his own -- an Olympic bronze as alternate on Yannick's team at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, two World Junior Championship appearances, and two European Championship campaigns with the now-disbanded Team Stocker. With big goals and a tight-knit group of 22-to-24-year-olds ready to make their mark, Team Kim Schwaller enters the new quadrennial with plenty to prove.

Team Bryce is turning the page on a successful era with a pair of roster moves heading into 2026-27. Long-time contributor Duncan Menzies is stepping away from competitive curling to focus on other commitments -- leaving the door open for a return when the timing is right -- while experienced curler Kerr Drummond joins the fold alongside Karsten Sturmay. Skip Cameron Bryce was quick to emphasize the group's identity as they reload, noting that strong teams don't need to be built within borders -- a nod to the multinational makeup that has become a hallmark of the Scottish-based rink as it continues to compete at the top level of the World Curling Tour.

Team Alberto Zisa has received a significant boost heading into the 2026-27 season, adding Mattia Giovanella and Francesco Vigliani to a core that already features Giacomo Colli, Francesco De Zanna, and Zisa himself. The pair depart following the dissolution of Team Retornaz, with Giovanella in particular bringing an exceptional pedigree -- a two-time Olympian and four-time Grand Slam champion who spent the previous quadrennial as one of Italy's most decorated curlers alongside Joel Retornaz, Amos Mosaner, and Sebastiano Arman. The Cortina d'Ampezzo-based squad now boasts one of the deeper rosters in Italian men's curling and figures to be among the country's top contenders as three Italian men's teams -- Zisa, Spiller, and Retornaz -- look to establish the next generation of dominance for the nation.

Sweden's Team Isabella Wrana is largely intact heading into the 2026-27 season, but with one notable shift in the lineup. Lead Linda Stenlund is stepping back from a full-time role and will serve as the team's alternate, with 20-year-old Moa Dryburgh moving into the starting lineup on a permanent basis. Dryburgh had already been a familiar face within the group, serving as alternate during Team Wrana's bronze medal run at the 2026 World Women's Curling Championship in Calgary. A two-time World Junior silver medallist as a skip, Dryburgh brings considerable pedigree to the front end. With skip Isabella Wrana, third Almida de Val, and second Maria Larsson all returning, the Swedish rink remains one of the stronger outfits in the international women's game

Four-time Grand Slam champion Joel Retornaz is turning the page with a revamped Italian lineup for the 2026-27 season, pairing up with third Stefano Gilli, second Andrea Gilli, and lead Alberto Pimpini -- a squad that blends youth and familiarity. The Gilli brothers arrive with impressive junior pedigree, having won gold at the 2025 World Junior Curling Championships and silver in 2026, while Pimpini steps up from his previous alternate role on Retornaz's team at the Milano Cortina Olympics. Retornaz, who made history as the first Italian skip to win a Grand Slam title at the 2022 Masters and reached world No. 1 after three consecutive Grand Slam wins in 2023-24, looks to rebuild toward the top of the world rankings with his new crew.

Ontario's Team Cave consists of Skip Grace Cave, Third Emily Deschenes, Second Madison Fisher and Lead Melanie Ebach.

Italy's most exciting young skip is building for the future -- and he's doing it with some serious firepower behind him. Stefano Spiller, just 20 years old and already a World Junior champion, has officially unveiled his lineup for the 2026-27 season, featuring Olympic gold medallist Amos Mosaner at third, two-time Olympian Sebastiano Arman at second, and Cesare Spiller at lead. The core of Mosaner and Arman brings a combined ten-plus World Championship appearances and four Grand Slam titles to the rink, providing the kind of veteran backbone that should accelerate Spiller's development at the elite level. Having already skipped Italy at this year's World Men's Championship in Ogden, the young skip from Valdidentro wasted no time establishing himself on the international stage -- and with this lineup now confirmed, expectations for Team Spiller will only grow heading into the new season.

Team Christina Black is welcoming a familiar face back to the province, announcing that Lindsey Burgess will join the squad at lead for the 2026-27 season. The 26-year-old Burgess, a Nova Scotia product, returns home after two seasons in Alberta playing second for Team Serena Gray-Withers -- a stint that included a finalist finish at the Alberta Scotties and a Grand Slam U25 title. Before heading west, Burgess built an impressive junior resume highlighted by gold medals at both the 2018 Canadian Junior and World Junior Championships alongside Marlee Powers, who is already a teammate on Team Black. Karlee Everist transitions into the fifth player role to make room, giving Black, third Jill Brothers, second Powers, and Burgess a tightly connected lineup with no shortage of big-game experience heading into the new season.

Suzanne Birt -- a 14-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts participant and one of Prince Edward Island's most celebrated curlers -- is making her long-awaited comeback. Reuniting with Third Michelle Shea, Second Meaghan Hughes, and Lead Sinead Dolan, and bringing legendary Island curler Kathy O'Rourke back behind the glass as coach, Team Birt is officially back in business for the 2026-27 season. The timing couldn't be more meaningful -- and for a team that has claimed the PEI Scotties title more than a dozen times, the chance to compete on home ice is exactly the kind of motivation that pulls a champion back.

Ontario's Team Young is official for the 2026/27 season, with three-time Brier skip and Youth Olympic gold medalist Nathan Young leading a roster built around a core group of players who have competed alongside each other for nearly a decade. Young is joined by vice Brady Lumley, second Matt Garner, and lead Spencer Dunlop -- all three of whom competed at the 2025 Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials, with Lumley and Garner each earning back-to-back Ontario Tankard bronze medals and Dunlop bringing 2026 Brier experience with Team Ontario. The team says it is targeting Ontario Tankard titles, World Curling Tour success, and a return to the national stage.

Swiss curling has lost one of its all-time greats. Silvana Tirinzoni has announced her retirement from competitive sport at age 46, bringing the curtain down on a career that spanned more than two decades of sustained excellence at the highest level. The Zurich native and CC Aarau skip departs with a resume that few can match -- gold at the 1999 World Junior Championships, four World Championship titles, two European Championship crowns, seven Grand Slam victories, and a fitting farewell in the form of an Olympic silver medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games. Over 250 appearances in the Swiss national team jersey speak to both her longevity and her irreplaceable role in the country's curling identity. The sport is richer for everything Tirinzoni gave it, and her legacy will endure long after the last stone is thrown.

After parting ways with Quebec's Team Laurie St-Georges, Sarah Daniels has founded a new team that will curl out of British Columbia. Joining her are Third Abby Ackland, Second Calissa Daly, and Lead Dayna Demmans -- a roster assembled from across the country with one shared goal: compete and grow together. For a skip who has been a fixture in BC curling since her junior days, this feels like a natural next chapter.

Switzerland's reigning national champions aren't changing a thing. Skip Marco Hosli, fourth Philipp Hosli, second Simon Gloor, and lead Justin Hausherr have confirmed they will return together for the 2026-27 season, building on the momentum of a breakout campaign that saw them win the Swiss championship and represent their country at the World Men's Curling Championship in Ogden, Utah. The young Glarus-based rink posted a 9-3 record at worlds before bowing out in the qualification game, announcing themselves as a genuine force on the international stage. With a national title, a world playoff appearance, and a tight-knit team dynamic already in place, Team Hosli heads into the new season with plenty to build on.

Kayla Skrlik is back with a new-look lineup and a renewed sense of purpose heading into the 2026-27 season. The 28-year-old Calgary skip has assembled a formidable roster, bringing in third Myla Plett -- a two-time Canadian junior champion -- alongside second Sarah Koltun and lead Samantha Fisher, who arrive as a proven front-end partnership after spending the past two seasons together on Team Corryn Brown in British Columbia. Koltun brings a decade of Scotties experience to the fold, while Skrlik herself has made three national appearances including a strong 5-3 showing at the 2026 Scotties.

Reigning Canadian curling champion Matt Dunstone has bolstered his Winnipeg-based team by signing veteran Mark Nichols at the second position ahead of the 2026-27 season, filling the void left by E.J. Harnden, who recently stepped away from full-time competitive curling. Nichols joins a core of Dunstone, third Colton Lott, and lead Ryan Harnden as the team sets its sights on defending their Brier title and returning to the World Championships, with Dunstone praising Nichols as one of the most accomplished and respected players in the game.

Two-time Ontario champion Danielle Inglis has announced her new squad for the 2026-27 campaign. The new-look Team Inglis features Third Jo-Ann Rizzo, Second Geri-Lynn Ramsay, and Lead Joanne Tarvit -- a roster that checks every box when it comes to championship pedigree. For a skip who knows what it takes to win at the provincial and national level, this is a team built with clear purpose.

Team Grattan isn't resting after a productive 2025-26 season. Skip James Grattan -- an 18-time Brier participant -- is reuniting with Jon Beuk, a third who knows this team's system and expectations. The team posted a solid 5-3 record at this year's Brier in St. John's, and with Beuk back in the lineup alongside Second Andy McCann and Lead Noah Riggs, the pieces are in place for an even bigger run in the season ahead.

The 2027 Montana's Brier in Saskatoon won't just be another national championship -- it marks 100 years of one of Canada's most beloved sporting traditions. Team Smith, out of St. John's, has circled that date on the calendar and is building toward it with purpose. Greg Smith, who has skippered NL to the Brier twice, knows what it takes to win a Tankard and earn that right. With Carter Small, Nate Locke, and Ben Stringer alongside him, this team has the tools -- and the motivation -- to give er and get there.

Selena Njegovan is stepping into the hack, announcing a brand new Manitoba-based team that draws talent from four different corners of the country. The nine-time Scotties veteran and three-time Grand Slam champion, who spent the past quadrennial playing third for Kaitlyn Lawes, will now call the shots with third Erin Pincott -- relocating from British Columbia where she played with Corryn Brown -- second Margot Flemming, who most recently curled with Team Kayla Skrlik in Alberta, and lead Krysten Karwacki, a familiar Manitoba face who served as longtime alternate for Team Einarson. With a combined resume that includes multiple Scotties, World Championship, and Grand Slam appearances across the lineup, Team Njegovan arrives as one of the most intriguing new rosters of the new Olympic cycle.

The rink that won the 2026 Manitoba women's provincial championship and represented the province at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts is staying together -- just under a new name. Previously known as Team Peterson, skip Kelsey Calvert, third Beth Peterson, second Katherine Remillard, and lead Melissa Gordon-Kurz are returning intact for the 2026-27 season with Calvert's name now on the marquee. It's a subtle but significant shift as the Winnipeg-based rink looks to build on a strong campaign and establish themselves as a consistent force in Manitoba and on the national stage heading into the new quadrennial.

Mark Kean has spent the better part of his curling career in Ontario, but Halifax is home now. Kean will curl out of the Halifax Curling Club alongside Ryan Abraham and Luke Saunders, former members of Owen Purcell's rink, which disbanded at the end of the 2025-26 season, with Nathan Gray rounding out the new-look lineup. Between them, Abraham and Saunders have each made three Brier appearances, giving Team Kean a back end with real national championship experience behind it.

Ontario's Team Jayden King has announced it will return with an unchanged lineup for the 2026/27 season, looking to build on a breakout 2025/26 campaign. The team climbed to seventh on the CTRS rankings and qualified for nearly every event they entered, capping the season by winning the 2026 Ontario Tankard and making their Brier debut -- with King making history as the first Black skip in Brier history. With that momentum behind them, the team is eager to continue their upward trajectory heading into the new season.

Eight-time Grand Slam champion Val Sweeting is heading to Victoria to join Kayla MacMillan's team, wrapping up an eight-season run with Kerri Einarson's powerhouse Gimli, Manitoba rink where she won five Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles, a World Championship silver, and back-to-back bronze medals. The 38-year-old Alberta native -- who also claimed three Grand Slam titles as a skip -- joins MacMillan, second Lindsay Dubue, and lead Lauren Lenentine following the team's recent parting with third Brittany Tran and alternate Sarah Loken.